Restoring a Swiss supermarket watch!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 лют 2022
- Today we have a lovely old Mirexal chronograph on the bench. A what? you said? A Mirexal? Explore the brand with me and the Valjoux 7733 movement inside, as we discover issue upon issue that needs to be dealt with! And yes, we'll do a few detours as ususal :)
See our watches and read our blog at www.vintagewatchservices.eu
See our current selection at Chrono24: bit.ly/32MJI4W
Tools and resources for watchmaking as a hobby:
bit.ly/43yQRmw Watchmaking books
bit.ly/3N3rlz3 Watchmaker’s loupe
bit.ly/43vOcu4 Watchmaker tweezers
bit.ly/3Nm0lfc Moebius lubricants
bit.ly/43ITWjM Screwdrivers
bit.ly/468B8wq Case opener
bit.ly/468Bfbk Rodico
bit.ly/3J8mX0u Polywatch
bit.ly/42wAZQf Presto tools
bit.ly/3J6UND7 Bergeon tools
bit.ly/3X21iwL Horotec tools
bit.ly/3X2xiAU Chinese made watchmaking tools
bit.ly/3qFqgWk Digital microscope
bit.ly/3CkZt4f Ultrasonic cleaner
bit.ly/3qAAPtX Ultrasonic cleaning solution
bit.ly/43V9HEr Denture cleaning tablet
bit.ly/3X1rpUl Chinese “Horia style” jeweling tool
bit.ly/3P5EQR7 Demagnetizer
Follow us on social media
/ vintage_watch_services
/ vintagewatchservices
/ vintagewatchsrv
www.pinterest.ch/vintagewatch... #watchmaking #vintagewatches #watchrepair #watchrestoration - Розваги
I have a new appreciation for mechanical watches, which UA-cam has gotten me addicted to. I really do appreciate the art of the old and new risk watches, just wish I had started collecting when I was in my 20s. Now I’m middle age, I’m learning how to service basic watches, have been picking up a few watches off eBay that need to be service. Stain, great job as always.
Cool to hear 😊
You can't pass your phone on to future generations as an heirloom. Excellent post as always.
That's very true, but they wouldn't use the heirloom for telling time either 😉
@@VintageWatchServices I never use the phone for telling the time, by the time you get it out and waken it, you could have just checked your wrist.
"Ah Valjoux. We meet again." Oh I could sense the tension. And yet the delight.
😁
Mesmerizing Norseman. I can't bare to watch any other watch warrior. Love the argument that something has a future because it's obsolete but, behold, it hasn't become obsolete.
😂👍
Another beautiful watch and video. I just love the mechanics of a watch and how they jam all them working parts into it. Amazing. I would never give up wearing my mechanical watches. I think they become part of you. Thanks again. Keep making those videos. 😁👍
Mechanical watches will Never die! I‘m shure!
12:39 It’s so pleasant and pleasingly percussive when he pokes pivots into pithwood.
Mirexal, if I didn’t know it’s a watch brand, I’d think it’s the name of a medicine 😂 Thanks for another great watchmaking class ❤
Splendid! These videos always seem to surprise, entertain and grow my appreciation for the mechanical watch. Great stuff!
Keep it up.
Cheers!
That's very nice to hear, Angel, thanks!
"Laziness is the mother of invention".😂
That's a nice movement, Stian !
It is! 😊
Another great video. Stian, you truly have a gift in what you do. In watching your videos, I'm in awe of your expertise and abilities. You are a major credit to your craft, and your commentary is an added bonus. Thank you, from an avid admirer and follower of your channel.
Thanks so much, that's very nice to hear 😊
Yes, there are many timepieces around us. But I have a lifelong habit of looking at my watch. I wear a suit every day with sleeves and cufflinks. The watch is an habitual accessory and necessary for me to tell the time. I love your channel and wonder if you also make videos of nature walks in the woods and making tea over a campfire? I enjoy those too.
Thanks Lew! I used to wear vintage watches with my suits every day also and prefer checking the time on a real watch :)
I'll focus on watches for now, I'm sure there are better channels than mine for nature walks!
@@VintageWatchServices Good to know. Here is the link. His name is Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen and he lives in Gressik. Your voices sound identical to my ears so I naturally assumed you might be related. Anyway: ua-cam.com/users/TheVikingBushcrafterfeatured
Always a joy to see these. One of my first watches was a Telstar chronograph with an emerald green dial and a Valjoux 7733 inside. Tough as nails, it was. I wore it in high school and it took a few good hits and kept smiling.
Also, on the subject of wristwatches, I live in a cold climate and a wristwatch is vastly easier to use wearing a heavy coat than a phone. It's a matter of sliding my sleeve back vs. digging my phone out and hitting the power button to engage the display.
Sounds like a very nice watch! And yes, as you might imagine (...) I'm of course a fan of watches but for the average person a watch is no longer a necessity. There's a lot of people now not having grown up with the feeling of something on their wrist and the challenge is trying to make them used to it 😉
And I can check the time without the foreman accusing me of playing with my phone. 😃
@@VintageWatchServices - My grown girls can't tell time on a watch. It is jewelry.
Vintage Watch Services I'm old enough to remember when EVERYONE had a watch. The idea of someone not knowing what wearing a watch is like is like saying someone's never sat on a chair before or they've never seen a hat.
"And it's time for _hulk_ _smash!_ HULK SMAAASH!!" I was laughing so hard I didn't hear "tippy tap, tip, tip, tippy tap..." and that's good, my soul might've completely left my body if I had.
😂
Fantastic!
Maybe the timegrapher at the end, for comparison.
Thanks 😊
Thanks, Dee Dee! I do the timegrapher after building the base movement, which you can see at around 18:25.
@@VintageWatchServices oops! Sorry, must have skipped past...
😁
Stian great job with that pusher screw replacement. Looking forward to the Landeron 248 service that you have previously mentioned coming up. Good to hear no trouble in paradise this week. Keep well from NZ.
Thanks a lot, Bruce! I have a Landeron 248 in a tray, it needs to have a lot of screw holes re-threaded and some parts replaced, so it's on the back burner...
Wonderful video! I’m waiting for a sears and roebuck / heuer 7730 in the mail. I Couldn’t agree more about the beauty of patina and conservation.
Thanks so much, Dave! Patina is beautiful to most vintage lovers, but just a couple of decades ago the sentiment was very different. Back then an old dial would pretty much always be refinished. Good luck with your 7730!
I enjoy doing my own 3D design work while listening to your sonorous commentary. It's quite ASMR, relaxing which allows me to think through technical problems. I'll frequently stop to watch you solve your problems. Wonderful work!
Thanks for that!
You made that into a very attractive watch, with a lovely dial, finally visible. Thank you for taking us along!
Many thanks!
Would like to see you work on an old Mido sometime. Those little Multiforts with the hexagonal cases are cute. Would also like to see an early 50s Omega Seamaster bumper!
Hello Larry, I have a couple of Midos in the pipeline and there is a video on my channel of the "almost" first Seamaster :)
the longer i watch your chanel the more i seem to learn about watches in my own small collection. once more seeing this watch rings a bell, because i have one very similar, branded OWESA, only with a chrome case and black dial, also written 17 jewels, incablock on, so i have the hope now that it may contain the same movement. this little watch is dear to my heart, because it was the first mechanical chronograph i bought, long time ago. i was doing my civil service in a small town away from home and had for the first time a paycheck on my hand, and in the city center there was an old watch shop. it was on the hight of the quarz boom and in the corner of the window he showed half-hidden two or three mechanical watches that looked already old at the time, but were new-old-stock leftovers he had in his shop and was happy to ged rid of. i don't remember the exact price, but it was not high, since i could afford to buy it. and i remember steping out of the shop, feeling proud like a king... the little watch is still in very good condition and runs perfectly. i wear her on special ocations and still think it is a sophisticated and elegant little watch, even so nobody knows the brand, not even i myself... thanks a lot for your videos. i realy love the way you narate, and your choice of watches matches my personal taste perfectly.
Thanks so much for sharing that, it's very nice to hear. I try to feature a big variety of watches, and that will continue :)
@@VintageWatchServices thank you. i realy find those "unknown" brands very interesting
Awesome video
Thanks so much!
Great episode enjoyed the closeups and stories good workmanship it shows nice to see someone who takes pride in his work.
Thanks so much :)
Another great job!
great Dion…about the jeweled bearing to the barrel shaft, this is the reason I prefere the SW200 instead the 2824
Very nice work! I personally love mechanical watches, "the engineering that goes into the design is outstanding". Currently I wear my Hamilton Chronograph Watch daily, "on occasion I need to adjust the time once every 2 weeks or less", but I don't mind.
Thanks, John! Adjusting the time every couple of weeks is not so bad for an old watch :)
Another great video
Thanks again! And feel free to share the video on Facebook or Instagram 😎
Wrist watches will survive because they are fashion. A mechanical movement is a work of art. An anachronism on your arm. I am a tradesman. For 35 years I have worn LCD watches at work. ($8 at Walmart. They break, you throw them away.) However, I have recently switched to solar. I bought a "beater watch" on EBAY. It is a Seiko SNE283. It looked worse in the photos online. Lol. I paid $86 and though the bezel has wear, it is beautiful to me, like a mother sees an ugly son. I do take it off if I'm using a drill to avoid the vibration being transferred. I have faith that it is robust. Tough and accurate. 👍🏻
Fully agree! Mechanical watches will always have a market, that market has only changed from being a commodity market to being a luxury market.
beautiful watch man!
Thanks for making and sharing another great video, Stian! IMO, the future of mechanical wristwatches is secure for at least several human generations - likely many more than that. I wear a watch just about constantly (yes, many have radium dials and hands) even though I work from home. Here's why (among other reasons): I love having a tiny machine strapped to my wrist which can very accurately track the passage of time. Few things are cooler than that!! Thanks again. Forgot to ask - Which Eveflex stick do you use to clean pivots? Cousins sells them in different grits. Thank you.
Thanks Woody, very well said :) I typically use the extra fine grit for cleaning the pivots, unless there's some surface rust or such.
Another GREAT VIDEO,,THANKS !!!
Thanks, Greg!
Some years ago, I happened to read the George Daniels obituary in The Economist and went on a very fascinating journey into his watches and the co-axial escapement. Naively, I expected Omega to take over the world once they developed it. In the haunts I inhabit everyone assumes a gold watch is a fake so my status remains severely undervalued even after buying one of the first Omega co-axial watches from 1999. I just love the analog aspect of mechanical watches. A beautiful little machine that can operate without electricity, at least indirectly... I have been privileged to witness the emergence of the digital world but still do admire what came before.
Thanks for sharing, Cory! Mechanical watches will always fascinate a certain demographic, and when combined with the luxury image and status they (mostly) bring there's a very bright future for them.
To most people the co-axial escapement is just writing on the dial that makes their watch a bit more exclusive, and in reality it was never a game changer. The overall contribution of it to the watch's timekeeping is in fact marginal, and the original vision of Daniels as a lubrication-less escapement isn't really implemented in the Omega version. And I can swear in church like this as having done most of my training at the British Horological Institute :)
Still a very cool addition to the world of mechanical watches, but I think the actual value of the co-axial escapement is more in terms of creating a bit of buzz around mechanical watches more than its technical advantages over the Swiss lever.
Thanks Stian for the great video, made my dinner go down so much better😉. I agree re future for watches. They are kind of fashion choice not an accuracy or reliability choice. I love it when you go in to detail explaining anything and bad dad jokes etc. Keep em coming!
Thanks a lot for that Boyd and for being a loyal viewer :)
That's a good looking chronograph Stian. Great to see you working on this staple of a Swiss movement. You made the staking and smoothing broach all look very simple. Ha
Thanks ! Some video editing makes everything look simple :) I didn't include the ten minute process of trying the bridge, taking it off, smoothing more, trying the bridge, taking it off, smoothing more etc...
Fascinating.. Great video, great work and a pretty neat watch, imo. Love the historical narration during the process. Always enjoy your vids.
Thanks for the journey...
Almost missed this one. We had an ice storm and some still don't have electricity.
Interesting watch and movement. I wonder how long it ran with the double springs in place?
I agree that watches as a tool to tell time may have passed (unless the zombie apocalypse hits us). I love and appreciate well made machines of all types from car and planes to clocks and watches. They show what the human mind and hand can achieve. The satisfaction derived from being able to sit back and watch the machine that you built do a job is more motivating than the actual laziness!
Ouch, sorry to hear that and I hope all goes well. Yes, the technology is obsolete, but that doesn't mean the entire watch is. I think rather the opposite given that for instance AP and PP are increasing their production :)
@@VintageWatchServices we are all well. I can't say the same for my wife's decorative trees. 😣
Beautiful piece…great work!
Thank you! Cheers!
Average enjoyable and informative video. Thankyou. I've just acquired my first chronograph, a 7733. Of course, I will be looking to service it. This video will help.
Predictive texting....that's supposed to be " a very enjoyable video" .....not average....damn predictive texting....Great video.....
Hello ..thank you for your videos ..
They are so soothing ..little faster than Nikked ... lol lol
I cannot do what you do..I tried though ..
it requires a sergeon stable hands and patience..which I have ..but ,I am in classic car business ..lol and my love is there ...
You see Classic cars as well as classic and new wrest watches are like TV screens and radio walky Talky ..
Who expected that Movie theatres or talk Radio will both survive the internet and the You tube revolution or the video tape recorder back then ??!
So also wrest watches are not going anywere soon at all ...
They might get more complex ,
cheaper more luxury ..but they gonna stay forever as far as a jewlery item for men as far as there are enthusiasts who love them ..
Actually in many futurestic movies and tv serieses like Star Trek & I Robot & Demeoition Man as well they used classic stuff as sought after ..
Star trek in paticular 4, they showed
most captains and many crew members as well even in the 24th century they still have items from the 1800-2000 kept dear to them and they seek for more ..
So I think they gonna be just a symbol of lauxury wear ,
and as a memory items for many people ,..why would somone now come to you and pay high dollars to restore an old watch from the 60s when he can buy one on ebay so clean for way less ??!
its what it means to him ..
Pizza hut company owner paid 1 million to whom ever finds his Chevy Comaro he used in high school and had to sell to help dad ..
(men especially )gonna be in this love for long long time and those watches will keep being made ..
Thanks so much for your comment! I agree that mechanical watches aren't going anywhere, especially as luxury items. It's just something very appealing to us at seeing those wheels turn... And yes, cars and watches are a pretty common shared interest :) Very interesting story about the Pizza hut owner, shows the sentimental value of items that are in fact outdated compared to modern standards.
Wow... watch lathe and depthing and "Hulk Smashing" and closeups. Your camera work is really amazing. I once asked a student what watch he was wearing. He replied that he didn't know and that the watch had stopped working some time ago, but he liked how it looked. So, even as a piece of "fashion jewelry" they are pretty cool. If folks could get even an inkling of what was hiding underneath the casebook in terms of perlage and finishing and blueing, etc... I think the industry would be secure. We're always keen to show off status and a fine watch says a lot without saying much. My first car was a Volvo when everyone else my age bought a truck or an old North American car. It said a lot without saying much. Ta Ta!
Thanks for your comment, Clay! I think the relatively recent trend of display backs, open heart watches and affordable tourbillons is quite necessary for people to start appreciating mechanical watches for the amazing pieces of micro mechanics they are. And if a $50 fashion watch makes them start loving wearing something on their wrist, that's a win for the entire industry. At some point, many of them will take an interest in "real" watches :)
Fantastic!
Many thanks!
Another very informative and entertaining video Stian.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Dion, you made a very good collection of chronographs repair videos. I would suggest to you the Glashütte cal 64 for your collection. This caliber was built only 12.500 times. It was developed of the Urofa cal 56.
WRT the wrist watch question -- I am a bit contrarian, my watches of choice are mechanical wrist and pocket watches. My current everyday watch is a Gotham 17 jewel Railroad style watch (sub-second hand, Montgomery style dial); I have another Gotham with a sweep second hand, but it needs some attention. The most retro of my watches is a Hamilton 992.
My usual 'borg' implants are a fitness tracker and a bone conduction headset, both of which are bonded to my phone via bluetooth.
I think my attraction to mechanical watches is precisely the lack of accuracy, I like being independent of the WWW and GPS as I spend most of my work day with computers, GPS units and precision devices.
My favorite science fiction writer said that. "Necessity is not the mother of invention, it is laziness" - Robert A. Heinlein
I honestly did not know that phrase but Mr Heinlein sure sounds like a smart guy! 😂
Superbe Restoration, vos vidéos sont toujours instructives et intéressantes ! 😊🇨🇦
Merci beaucoup ! 😊
@@VintageWatchServices plaisir
Excellent video as normal Stian, a lovely chronograph brought back to working fine. cheers for showing us lad.
Thanks so much, Dave 😊
Superb editing makes for a more watchable length, keep up the good work.
Thanks George!
Thank you for the info
Thanks for watching, David !
Another great video Stian. Some very interesting insights into the watch industry. No smart watch will ever appear on my wrist 😲. Thanks.
Thanks a lot, Michael! Neither on mine :)
Stain, another superb video. As you know, as a subscriber and vintage watch enthusiast I really enjoy the education! Thanks again.
Much appreciated!
Muy buen trabajo 👍 👏
My major concern about the future of owning mechanical wristwatches is the dearth of qualified watchmakers to service them, especially chronographs. I think that the problem will be more pronounced in the US where we don't have an extensive domestic watchmaking industry like in Europe. Hopefully, your videos, Stian, will cause some younger people to decide that there's a future for them in watchmaking even if they have slightly shaky hands and tell bad jokes. 😉
That's a very good observation about the domestic industries 🤔 The problem is that shaky hands and bad jokes seems to be more prevalent with old guys like us rather than young folks 😂
@@VintageWatchServices Too true. 😕
I worked in St Gallen 1974 for a few months until the country chucked me out for having no arbeitsbewilligung... Whilst there I learned the printing trade, visited Migros, skied at Santis mountain, and tried no to misbehave with the boss's wife.... ;-). 😊❤
😁👍
Great education channel 👍
Thanks so much!
Thank you for another great video. I think your insight on the future of mechanical watches is spot on. I agree the obsolescence helps create exclusivity that elevates watches from tools to status symbols. The same has happened with Curta mechanical calculators. Completely outdated, but beautiful in that they can compute mechanically.
Thanks Christopher! Yes, items that we can imagine ourselves trying to make and understanding how difficult it would be are very impressive and intriguing. A quartz or smart watch simply doesn't invoke those same feelings and will always remain utilitarian.
I agree completely. Your videos have really been inspirational. I just put together my first Frankenwatch thanks largely to the confidence I gained watching you. It certainly isn't perfect, but I love having it on my wrist and it makes me feel good that I saved an old chronograph movement from ending up in the trash.
Magnifique travail ! J’espère avoir ce niveau un jour 😅😅
Thanks so much, Julien, and I'm sure you will be :) And feel free to share the video on Facebook or Instagram 😎
Another good one, 👍🏻🍺
For me, my interest in mechanical watches is one aspect of my fascination with metalworking and the crafting of metal parts. I also have a deep interest in knives and cameras. All require intricate and highly technical use of metals.
Hello Frank, thanks for sharing and that's for sure a sentiment that's shared with a lot of others on this channel :) There's something very fascinating about shaping small pieces of metal into a beautiful watch...
nice job dude
Thanks!
I am a paramedic and I have been wearing a wrist watch with a seconds hand for 40 years, mostly quartz, but I will keep wearing a watch for the rest of my life because it is part of me. Though I would love to get a Swiss automatic some day.
That's great to hear, Michael :) I suppose you don't need ultra-precision in your work, so in that case a Swiss automatic would be a good choice for sure!
You are right they are obsolete but a good automatic or hand winding wristwatch is always a classic, at least for me and I pass that love to my kids, all of them have Rolex Submariner and they don't change them for any other quarz watch.
I have Felicitas Neuchâtel watch with a very similar dial design! Only it has an additional 45-minutes counter. But the design is almost the same.
Very nice!
This watch almost became my first one but I decided for a blue Mirexal daydate instead when I was ten years old because I liked the blue dial better and didnt knew what these little dials were for. I still have it and it still does a great job. Migros changed their watch brand to M-Watch in the meatime but the straps are still branded Mirexal.
Thanks for that, Peter, very cool to hear! There are tons of Mirexal watches for sale on the Swiss marketplaces still and they're great value watches.
Beautiful old chrono Stian, thanks for sharing the rebuilding process. As I recall, when you first put it on the timegrapher, there was significant beat error which was gone after service. How did you do that? Also, how do you adjust the depth of engagement on the chrono driving wheels that you pointed out ? Is there a little adjustment screw somewhere? :-)
Sorry for the annoying questions but it's rare to get a peek "behind the curtain" at someone who actually knows what they're doing. Keep up the good work!
Hello Randy, don't worry, your questions are welcome, not annoying :) There are a few so-called eccentric screws in chronographs. These aren't actually screws, they are plugs with asymmetric heads, so that when they are turned, they will move the pieces they are adjacent to either away from them or closer to them. There are as a minimum such eccentrics for adjusting the depthing of the driving wheel and the clutch wheel, the clutch wheel and the chronograph wheel and the intermediate minute counter wheel and the chronograph wheel finger. They can be quite fiddly to adjust and frequently require a lot of back and forth before they everything runs smoothly.
For the beat error; it seems to have been a misreading of the timegrapher, which can happen sometimes if the tick and tocks are a bit irregular.
Simple, functional, beautiful piece all around. Question : have you considered chemical removal of the broken pusher screw?
Hello Francois, thanks for watching! Yes, I did try using alum for removing it, but it didn't bite. I thought maybe I would drill the broken screw out but considering the pushers were also very worn I decided to simply replace them.
Wow, that is a beautiful timepiece. You did a great job cleaning it up and making it spin. The dial is very nice. The name does not ring a bell. Doesn't 17 jewels sound a bit on the lower side for this type of movement?
Thanks a lot, Berre! Mirexal was a Swiss store brand that doesn't exist anymore, but there's still plenty of them for sale here, and you'll also see some on eBay, Chrono24 etc. 17 jewels is indeed a bit fewer than one would like to see in a chronograph but it was very common back half a century ago.
I recently purchased an old mechanical chess clock, it still works and I enjoy the ticking noise.
That is very cool! I keep having dreams where I have some weird old clocks I'm working on.. ah yes, the dreams of a watchmaker... making weird seem normal.
Hey stian. I recently bought a vintage volvo watch with an fhf 97 st movement. I was wondering if you had something similar to film so I can use as a guide as I'm quite new to the hobby . Great video as qlways thanks
Hello David, the FHF 97 is a very straight forward movement, so if you watch a couple of the manual wind watch videos or the explanatory video of how watch parts fit together, you should be able to work it out. Just take it slowly and never use force :)
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I'm trying to figure out which mainspring winder did you use for 7733?
Thanks! I don't remember which one, I basically just match the winder barrel with the mainspring barrel until I find the one that fits :)
I recently did a Lemac with a 7750 (17 jewels version). I haven't run into a Lemac before. Almost as unknown as Mirexal.
Hello Hans, thanks for watching! I've never heard of Lemac, but there were so many brands out there that no longer exist. And nowadays there are also a lot of microbrands following more or less that same model, which is great for the industry.
@@VintageWatchServices Thanks for all your videos! Your channel i one of my absolute favorite watch channels here on the tube. I'm also a neighbor of your home country. I live in Stockholm.
I agree, that the wristwatch has a future, even in its basic form. It's usually far more convenient to look at your wrist, than get a phone out of your pocket or bag.
The thing is that the younger generations aren't used to wearing a watch, and they seem to never put their phones in their pockets anyway... 😉
The new quartz movements may be more accurate but the digital readout ie just numbers are not as easy to read as the analogue dial!And the analogue looks better on the wrist😂.
??? Most quartz movements run analog dials...
I have recently gotten into chronograph watches after being a watch enthusiast for many years. I would like to see you tackle the Seiko 6T63 as it is a Mecha-Quartz that I have been fascinated with.
Thanks for watching! Besides quartz being the devil's work (😉), I simply don't have the equipment to test them. And I'm lucky enough to not rely on customers bringing their watches in for service, so I focus on mechanical ones :)
@Vintage Watch Services I used to feel the same about quartz watches but that has changed somewhat from researching the Seiko 7A28 and the 6T63. Both watches have a mechanical Chronograph like those found in 7750.
@@guitstikkustoms4448 I recently purchased a Pagani 1701 with the Seiko VK63. It's pretty cool to see a quartz chronograph reset with a hammer just like a mechanical watch. I also have a Tag Heuer 2000 with Calibre 185 from the mid 80's that uses a quartz ETA with 1/2 second impulse (ticks 2x per second) with Dubois-Depraz 2000 mechanical chrono module. Heaven help me if it ever needs service! I have a small collection of 7733/34 movement chronographs which brought me to this video.
There is this exact same style watch for sale on the local buy and sell here in Austria at the moment, in fact its been for sale for a number of months for €550. Looks cosmetically pretty good condition I think for the case its slightly better than your lovely example, but I don't think serviced! Its funny what you say about the relevance of a mechanical watch now. For me it is that I have always worn a watch since a child in the seventies and not only do I like them I never feel properly dressed if I go out without one! I have a friend though who never winds his watch but wears it every day even though it does not tell the time as he likes the look of a watch on his wrist. On his other wrist is his apple watch which gives him the time.
That's the thing indeed Ian, we're used to that feeling on the wrist so something is missing when we don't wear a watch. But a lot of people nowadays never wore anything growing up, so getting them to wear a watch is an extra challenge...
What did watchmakers use or do before the timegrapher? Thank-you inadvance.
*I agree with keeping an older watch looking that way. Cleaning the case is fine and using a Cape Cod cloth for very superficial marks is also okay, but nothing more. I never liked gold watches; solid cases are so much more expensive than steel I have always wondered why using a less durable, far more expensive material for a timekeeping device was ever popular. But as always sir, GREAT JOB GREAT VIDEO.*
Thanks a lot, Joe! Gold watches are indeed a different animal and were always intended as high luxury. But if you like gold, then solid gold lends itself to polishing in a way gold plating/capping/filling does. And it also lends itself to a very fat bank account :)
Speaking about dust, do you have a special air filter system in your workshop? (Still waiting for the video tour of your new digs).
Hello Bullnose, I don't have a special air filter system per se, but a rather big filtration unit inside my watch room. I still have that video on my list 😎
Thanks for sharing another great video. I just added a monopusher chrono to my collection. Any plans to service one of those?
Thanks for watching, Steve! It all depends what you mean a monopusher; the Chronostop video I made was technically of a monopusher but not a high grade one with the pusher in the crown for instance. What kind of watch did you get then if I may ask?
@@VintageWatchServices I picked up a LONGINES Heritage Chronograph Automatic L2.783.4.53.2 with the calibre L788. I have a number of modern style chronos but didn't have a monopusher so I decided to get it.
The Longines Heritage line is just awesome imo. I am actually going to service a vintage Longines monopusher shortly, but it has a separate pusher, not in the crown. Still a nice watch :)
The future of wristwatches will be shaped by several separate, but not mutually exclusive, traits among the public including, but not limited to nostalgia/history enthusiasm, art appreciation, engineering appreciation, watch/clock horology collectors, lifestyle aspirationalism, and even Steampunk cosplaying. Perhaps less mainstream than they once were, wristwatches are becoming increasingly the tokens of a dedicated group of enthusiasts. Watchmaking/Collecting is not dead or dying, just transforming.
I think you're right, Kerry. What will be interesting to see is what happens when the last generation of people growing up with a wristwatch on their wrists pass away. That's when the wristwatches more or less completely lose their utility and completely become luxury items.
@@VintageWatchServices I hadn't considered the idea that I was a part of a dying breed. Lol!
One thing that might spur interest in wristwatches, or even timepieces in general, would be if some sort of huge Intellectual Property (Harry Potter sized or bigger) featured watches and clocks in an exciting and admirable way that caused a generation of fans to look at watches as cool and desirable. What that IP might be or look like, God only knows and He has doubts.
It's a shame, though, that "Doctor Who," a very long running program which is almost entirely about time, didn't feature signature timepieces for each incarnation of The Doctor.
Watches are unbeatable for surreptitious glances at the time during boring periods or phases (evening with the in-laws, etc.).
😁 Real life examples!
Hello, again a nice video, and some quality images on this very nice movement! Good joke with the pocket watch! I managed for a Boley account 10% of stuff from cousins! That curved tweezers Regina is from Boley or from elsewhere? 10x
Hello Tiberiu, thanks for that and great to hear your Boley account is up and running! I bought the curved tweezers from Beco-technic.com but I don't think they have them anymore... The model I use is 7A-BRA, and you can also contact Regine directly here: www.regine.ch/products.php?subid=27&lang=E&Tq=R&Taf=W&Tm=BRA&Tbase=46&twpg=1
Great vid , i have been looking everywhere what is the name of the tool to remove the press fit wheel ?
Hi, thanks for watching! The tool I used here is a bergeon presto tool. There are two types, one for driving wheels with an odd number of spokes an one for an even number of teeth.
@@VintageWatchServices ah thankyou, they really know how to make their money, i am surprised they didnt make a tool for each number of spokes.
Good job! Only info you definitely should always remove balance jewels before cleaning otherwise there is a risk to broke balance pivots.
Thanks! I know opinions vary on this but this is how I was taught it and I've never heard of anyone actually breaking pivots this way. If you know of any broken pivots I'd be very interested in hearing it :)
I have a Heuer Carrera 73653N with a valjoux 7736 I think… it won’t reset to 12. Is there a way to reset it or is it a repair issue? Needs service either way… awesome vids and love watching them.
Hello Walther, that sounds like a watch I'd be happy to service for you :) You can contact me at stian@vintagewatchservices.eu if you are interested in that.
I’ll send you some pics. The dial was redone before I got it and done ok except the three subs are “jaggy”. I’d like your opinion for sure. I’m in the states so you can let me know the process… I was told it had to go to Geneva and I was concerned about it going to the Tag “black hole”!
Look for some pics and thanks!
Are there any movements where you would oil the pallet pivots?
Hello Brian, thanks for watching! Pretty much all manufacturers say not to oil the pallet pivots, with the notable exception of Seiko. I still don't lubricate Seiko pallet pivots, as that's the prevailing school of thought I was taught in.
Something I noticed; you timegraphed it with the default 52 degree lift angle but the 7733 has a lift angle of 48 degrees, I believe. How much of a shift in the other numbers (amplitude, I suppose mostly) would this cause?
I’m not asking to be pedantic; I’m truly curious.
Hello Stefan, thanks for watching! You are indeed right, I should have put it to 48 degrees. 52 degrees is sort of the default if you don't know the exact lift angel, but I do in fact have the tech sheet for this movement so it was more down to laziness 😉
The difference if I had put the lift angle to 48 wouldn't have been dramatic, the amplitude would have gone from around 310 to around 290 or so. Each degree typically represents some 5 degree amp or thereabouts.
Another thing is that most watches actually do not have target amplitudes at full wind, but rather after 24 hours. I will take that up in a video at some point.
Is it only the cap stone that is lubricated on the balance, or is the main jewel also lubricated?
Hello Andrew, thanks for watching! It's normally the cap stone that is oiled, but capillary action will pull the oil slightly down into the jewel hole.
@@VintageWatchServices Thanks for your reply 👍
17:00 ish … I wouldn’t discount the human connection with the mechanical. We LOVE mechanical stuff, and I’d go so far as to say we need it. It’s part of us. It springs from our being. A wristwatch is a tiny convenient everyday way to maintain that connection.
Oh yes, I absolutely agree. What I was trying to convey is that while the number of people wearing watches is likely never going to be as high as it was half a century ago, there will always be a lot of people buying mechanical watches :)
Sometimes I wonder who comes up with brand-names like this. "Mirexal" sounds like a laxative to me. However, the watch is a beauty.
😂👍
What makes a movement have a higher vph? Is it just the number of escape wheel teeth?
Hello Jay, thanks for your question! It's in fact mostly a much "stronger" hairspring that makes the balance oscillate faster, combined with a lighter balance wheel and slightly different tooth profile on the escape wheel to allow them to slip easier. This profile allows the escape wheel to rotate almost twice as fast. Only almost, since the escape wheels has a few more teeth than the 15 the lower beat watches typically have. Lower down the train the differences are quite minor, just a slightly faster rotation rate and different tooth counts to make it all work out to make the hands rotate at the correct rates.
Thanks, I had been wondering for a while how that worked. I really like your videos, well shot and informative. I've just gotten into watch repair and am trying to educate myself. My other big hobby is blacksmithing, been doing that for 25 years. I know, the two don't really go together.
Hello from 🇨🇦, after listening to “grampa’s story” about this moment being a crossover of brands back in the late 60’s early 70’s, I started thinking about Oris’s new Cal.400 (a really good if not great movement but in my opinion they just didn’t go that last step (ie. decorating it), have you ever heard of out know any watch makes/company that one could send their Oris Aquis Pro Date in to and have the viable screws blued, Adam sone geniva striping done on just the viable plates and cocks on the movement?
I realize this would most likely be extremely expensive; I would love to hear you’re (out any watch makers seeing this comment) opinion on this and perhaps a guess as to a price?
Regardless love you’re channel and wish you all the best!
Brandon
Thanks so much, Brandon! Bluing screws could be done for probably just a couple of hundred, but decorating the plates would be thousands. It would require a lot of assembly and disassembly not to speak of the manual finishing work.
Actually my first encounter with a display caseback was with the superior 23-jewel, 21600vph Russian built version of this movement, the Poljot 3133.
Sounds very simliar to the one I have lined up for a video 😉
Is this the movement russians bought machinery to develop the poljot 3133 movement? The "V" shaped bridge looks almost the same.
It is! I'm actually doing one shortly and will compare them then :)
Perhaps conservation of energy as opposed to "laziness." Like all things throughout the universe, humans take the path of least resistance in order to achieve our goals/meet our needs. It's remarkable those humans who choose the path of greatest resistance that are remembered in history books. And, of course, misery means there is money to be made.
Yes, it isn't really laziness, it's indeed about conserving energy and time 👍
Where did you get the curved brass tweezers thank you
Hello David, my tweezers are from Regine Horology and I used to buy them from beco-technic.com. It seems they no longer carry them, but you could maybe buy them directly from Regine.ch
How much does a servicing like this cost?
I’ve started my first watch movement a 71 seiko sportsmatic all was going well till I lost the pallet fork down a crack in the floorboards. 😳 I didn’t realise just how small watch parts are as there is no comparison in your videos. Nevertheless I will not be beaten new fork coming onwards and upwards.
Sorry to hear that... Watch parts are absolutely small and if you have any cracks in the floor near your bench, you can buy large plastic sheets at IKEA for instance to cover them. And you're absolutely right, that tiny thing (...) won't beat you :)
My father told me that when he served in the forces they had a saying “ if a job needs to be
done in a hurry, ask the laziest man in the unit how he would do it”.
Sounds like good thinking 😂